Now at 11th & E Pike St. in Capitol Hill, Annex Theatreʼs 26th season is no different, featuring four Mainstage productions, one Late Night production, and three Off Night productions.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY

Mainstage (Jan 18-Feb 16th):
Undo
Written by Holly Arsenault
Directed by Erin Kraft
Rachel and Joe are getting divorced, and everyone they know is invited. Guilt, grief, desire, and booze collide in this darkly comedic new play that contemplates a world where the worst moment of your life is something that people dress up for.

Off Night (Jan 22-Feb 13):
2nd Date
What turns a spark into a flame? In theater, there’s only one answer: Creativity. Playwrights and directors have their first collaborative kiss in 2nd Date (co-produced with Rain City Projects).

APRIL/MAY

Mainstage (Apr 26-May 25):
Team of Heroes: No More Heroes
Written by Alex Harris
Directed by Jaime Roberts
The final installment in this satirical trilogy exploring the dark underbelly of doing good. Come see superhero spectacle created through the leanest theatrics, operatic emotions and lurid desires, out-of-control egos and skintight spandex.

Off Night:
Star Crossed, and other tales from a devious universe
Written by Scotto Moore
Directed by Ian Johnston, Katherine Karaus, Jen Moon, Scotto Moore, and Catherine Blake Smith
An evening of tasty, bite-sized science fiction and fantasy, including four tales of an immortal astronaut crossing time and space to find the woman she loves – from the playwright of Duel of the Linguist Mages and A Mouse Who Knows Me.

JULY/AUGUST

Mainstage (Aug 2-31):
Precious Little
Written by Madeleine George
Directed by Katherine Karaus
When a professor of linguistics learns unsettling information about her unborn child, her only solace comes from an unlikely connection with a gorilla at the local zoo… a creature with zen-like calm who’s portrayed by a woman in a Coco Chanel suit. “An 80-minute gem that makes a big impression.” – San Franciso Chronicle

Late Night (Aug 9-30):
The Half Brothers Brand Baking Products Old-Time Variety Show
Neo-bluegrass trio The Half Brothers (John Ackermann, Rick Miller, and David Nixon) mix toe-tapping music, cooking instructions, and oddball video into an increasingly surreal old-school variety show – like Hee Haw on mushrooms.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Mainstage (Oct 18-Nov 16):
The Underneath
Written by Kelleen Conway Blanchard
Directed by Pamala Mijatov
From the playwright of Kittens in a Cage comes the terrifyingly funny tale of a foul-mouthed teen-girl inventor whose seaside town is about to launch a new water park, unleashing dolphins, sea monsters, and vengeful reanimated corpses.

Off Night:
The Luxuria Cycle
Written & directed by Jimmie Galaites
What if a dot-com corporation owned love? Three short plays explore modern language with the romance of Tweets, Facebook, and dating service profiles created through motion-capture technology. The green dots reveal all.

ALL YEAR ROUND

Spin The Bottle
First Friday of every month
There have been laughs. There have been tears. There has been nudity. Since 1997, audiences of all shapes and sizes have seen variety-show-style performances of all shapes and sizes on the first Friday of every month at 11pm.

Weird and Awesome with Emmett Montgomery
First Sunday of every month
Like Ed Sullivan presiding over the Gong Show, or Donny & Marie produced by Andy Warhol at the height of the Factory, WEIRD AND AWESOME WITH EMMETT MONTGOMERY promises entertainment at its most human and inexplicable.

“A Mouse Who Knows Me” is a world premiere musical with book & lyrics written by Scotto Moore (author of “Duel of the Linguist Mages”), music composed by Robertson Witmer (of “Awesome”), and direction by Kristina Sutherland (Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Macha Monkey). The time commitment is as follows: rehearsals for a public workshop that begin July 1, with a workshop date of July 15; rehearsals for the full production which begin August 13; production opens on October 19 and runs Thu-Sat until November 17. All actors sing & dance, and mice characters are portrayed in part by actors utilizing puppets while obviously visible on stage (in the style of “Avenue Q”). We have some flexibility with vocal range given that we can tailor the music to the performers to some degree, but our preferences are stated below.

The following roles are open for casting:

• Dr. Audrey Whitman (one weekend only) – Audrey is the lead role in the show and is already cast; however, for the October 25-27 performance dates, we are seeking an understudy to play the role. She should be late 20s / early 30s, preferably alto. For the remainder of the run, we would expect this performer to appear in the Ensemble. Audrey is a genius researcher who is on the fast track in her laboratory – until she develops a surprising empathy for one of her lab mice.
• Dr. Robert Cramer – the show’s antagonist. He should be in his 40s or 50s and preferably sing tenor. Dr. Cramer runs the university laboratory in which the show is set – he is a charismatic hot shot with shady ties to the military, whose willingness to advance his career threatens to overtake his lab.
• D29-1 – a young mouse with a revolutionary fervor. He can be in his 20s or 30s and must sing high rock tenor. D29-1 is a firebrand who seeks revenge on the scientists after his mother was euthanized in a gas chamber; he leads the other mice to escape their cages and is a volatile, angry figure. This performer will also appear in the Ensemble.
• Dr. Helena Warwick – the head of the genetics department at the university where the show is set. She should be in her 40s or 50s and can sing alto or soprano. Dr. Warwick is a stern bureaucrat helped Dr. Cramer into his position and now seeks the respect she feels is lacking from him; the two have a secretive connection that slowly comes to light. This performer will also play one of the featured Mice roles, and may also appear in the Ensemble.
• Theodore Werner – a shady military industrialist. He should be in his 40s, 50s, or 60s, and preferably sing bass or baritone. He is a powerful man who is extremely accustomed to getting his way. This performer will also play one of the featured Mice roles, and may also appear in the Ensemble.
• Ensemble – we are seeking three performers of either gender and various ages to appear as the Ensemble, as mice and as postdocs in the lab depending on the scene. We imagine the Ensemble to occasionally take on a “Chorus” role similar to the trio of chorus singers who appear occasionally in “Little Shop of Horrors” – these performers will be singing very frequently throughout this show.

For general auditions, please prepare a one minute monologue and a one minute song; we expect to have an accompanist available, but be prepared to sing a cappella if we do not. The first round of auditions is May 19-20. Callbacks will include movement/dance and vocals in groups & solo, as well as cold readings. Callbacks are May 22-24. You may schedule an audition time by emailing the Production Manager Meaghan Darling at meaghan.darling@annextheatre.org.

From the playwright: “KITTENS IN A CAGE tells Junie’s story, a good girl gone bad, sent to the pen by a buncha rats. From the knife fights in the showers to riots in the prison mess hall, Junie has to toughen up fast. Lucky for Junie, she’s got Vickie. A tough love story about bad broads that can’t get no breaks.”

KITTENS IN A CAGE opens on July 27 and runs Thurs-Sat at 8 pm through August 25. Rehearsals will begin on June 2.

The characters:
Junie—A real swell gal. She’s gonna win that Vickie’s heart, no foolin’. She plays the ukulele and sings.
Vickie—A real tough cookie. A firebug and a firecracker.
Prison Matron—An educated visionary. She enjoys experimenting on inmate’s brains and oiling her prosthetic arm.
Jeanine —She runs this henhouse. A former beauty pageant winner, she’s in the pen for chopping people up with an axe.
Barbara—Servin’ a dime for killing and eating her parole officer, also some girl scouts. She’s Jeanine’s muscle. Mute.
Nancy—The prison guard. She’s in secret love with the Prison Matron.

The following three characters are all played by the same actor:
Peggy—Knocked up thief. A good egg.
Lois—Pill popper.
Ma—Junie’s Ma. She’s a rotten tomato.

Auditions will be on Sunday, May 6, from 1-3 pm. Callbacks will be on May 12, 1-5 pm.

To schedule an audition slot, send an e-mail to Bret Fetzer at bret.fetzer@annextheatre.org. Please prepare a monologue of no more than a minute and a half; anyone interested in the role of Junie should also prepare to sing for no more than thirty seconds, unaccompanied. Questions? Contact Bret Fetzer.

Annex Theatre announces auditions for their Spring off-night show, Sideshow! We are still in the process of creating and developing this show. All performers involved should be comfortable with movement, improvisation, and ensemble generation.

About the show:
Inspired by the tradition of the old-fashioned circus sideshow, this original dance-theater work features characters whose physical abnormalities bestow them with special powers. Rather than disabilities, they have super-abilities. The Bearded Lady is a contortionist who displays the remarkable magnetic powers of her mysterious beard. The Hunchback has super-human strength but dreams of being a beautiful tightrope walker. A girl with jaundice has the ability to imagine things that then come true. (Craggy trees grow love notes. Swimming pools become giant bowls of green Jello. Fish can fly. Sea sirens are real. . .) Supported by a chorus of sideshow performers singing haunting Appalachian ballads, “Sideshow” is whimsical with somber undertones and a tingling strangeness. Blending dance, theater, and elements of puppetry, it toes the line between being magical and haunting, simple and fantastical.

Casting Needs
Chorus (3 chorus members) – These performers will be singing unaccompanied Appalachian ballads and will be used in a variety of small roles throughout the show. We’ll be looking for people who can sing in this style and ideally also have circus-related skills (juggling! hula hooping!) or play a musical instrument. For the audition, please sing us a song and show us your special talent. Don’t know any unaccompanied Appalachian ballads? Sing “Amazing Grace.” Or even something from “O Brother Where Art Thou?”
Not familiar with this style of singing? Here are some examples:
-Hazel Dickens — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlAfA1AF4TQ
-Roscoe Holcomb — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cJRRc8FToQ
-Ginny Hawker — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHbfrWSU5D0&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLEEF40B0E24B17142
-Ralph Stanley — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xmRWj7gJEU
-Alice Gerrard — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQgEF5hrchY

Ringmaster – This is someone whose commanding voice does not match their physical appearance. (For example, a very small person with a very large voice, or a woman with a very deep voice.) For the audition, you will be asked to read from the script, improvise, and show a special skill (circus-related, if ya got one).

Tree Person – We are looking for one more core cast member, to play The Tree Person — a person who has trees growing out of his or her hands, and who will fall in love with The Hunchback. This is a physical role and not a speaking part. If you are auditioning for this part, you will be asked to do some directed improvising at the audition. The other three core members (The Hunchback, who the story centers around, The Bearded Lady, and Daffodil, the jaundiced girl) have already been cast and have been working together on this project for more than a year.

Auditions – will be held Thursday February 23rd, from 6:30-10pm at Seattle Children’s Theatre’s West Rehearsal Hall. Please enter through the administrative office doors.
Chorus auditions – 6:30 – 7:45
Tree Person auditions – 7:45 – 9
Ringmaster auditions – 9-10
Callbacks will be held on Sunday February 26th at 10:30 am at Annex Theatre. Those who are cast will be asked to stay for the rehearsal from 12:30 to 3:00.

Schedule -
Chorus – 1-2 rehearsals per week, scheduled TBD based on performers’ availability.
Ringmaster – EITHER Tuesday daytimes OR one weekend day per week.
Tree Person – Tuesday daytimes and one weekend day per week.
Because the show is being developed through the rehearsal process, rehearsals will begin immediately. Show dates are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, May 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16, with a preview on April 31.

To set up an audition time, please contact the production manager at grant.knutson@annextheatre.org and indicate which part(s) you would like to audition for.

Team of Heroes: Behind Closed Doors

Produced by Annex Theatre
Directed by Jaime Roberts
Written by Alexander Harris

Annex Theatre announces auditions for “Team of Heroes: Behind Closed Doors” to be performed in Spring 2012. “Team of Heroes: Behind Closed Doors” is a prequel to the story that began with “Alecto: Issue #1″ at Annex Theatre in Winter 2010. Following the beloved Team of Heroes, this play explores how Madame Mayhem gains her super powers and reveals more of the deeply conflicted and mysterious beginnings of the Team of Heroes and who exactly may be running it. As the team battles their new foe Chaos Theory, we learn more about who the heroes are, where they came from and learn that the lines between good and evil are not always what they seem…

“Team of Heroes: Behind Closed Doors” is a new play written by Alexander Harris and directed by Jaime Roberts. It opens on April 27th and runs through May 26th, 2012 with performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with one Monday night industry performance. This show will require a slightly longer commitment to accommodate fight rehearsals and will begin in mid-January 2012. This will be a physically demanding show and requires actors to prepare for rigorous physical and fight training.

The following roles are open for casting:

Females:

• Miss Dixie – a member of the Team of Heroes, she is equal parts charming Southern Belle and ferocious sexy bulldog. Her super power is that she is a voodoo puppet master.
• Black Swallow – the mother of Madame Mayhem. She patrols the streets as vigilante Black Swallow. She fights crime without the aid of a super power but uses all of her feminine wiles to best her foes.
• Melody Knox – the manager of the Team of Heroes. Melody keeps the team on task and poised for the best media exposure. Her true motivation may not be what it seems.

Males:

• Ace Johnson – once the leader of the Team of Heroes in the 1980s. He is all strength and all man. He is the team’s predecessor of The Cap’n.
• Mikhael/Black Russian – once a petty thief and now a marketing director for the Team of Heroes. His role in the history of the Team of Heroes may be a surprising one.
• Vladimir/White Russian – also once a petty thief, he is partners with Mikhael/Black Russian. Both men have complicated and integral roles in the history of the Team of Heroes.

Each actor will also be cast in multiple smaller roles. Please note the roles of Madame Mayhem, Chaos Theory, The Cap’n and Shock Wave have already been cast.

• General auditions will be held on Saturday November 5th from 1pm to 5pm at Annex Theatre.
• Callbacks are on Sunday November 6th from 2:30pm to 5:30pm at Annex Theatre.
• Additional callbacks may be scheduled for Wednesday November 9th from 7pm to 10pm at Annex Theatre.

For general auditions, please prepare two short contrasting monologues not to exceed 3 minutes. You may schedule an audition time by emailing the Production Manager Kristina Volkman at: kristina_volkman(at)hotmail.com.

Annex Theatre announces auditions for their January 2012 show, the world premiere of Cocktails at the Centre of the Earth.

About the show:

In a world where mummies are torn from their tombs to be used as fuel, thrill to the adventures of the idle rich on the look-out for increasingly dangerous kicks.

Jetpacks! Talking foxes! Disguises! Perversions!

Can Lansing and Helena, two street urchins with a dangerous secret, storm the exclusive gates of the Albion Club? Will pneumatic tubes lift them to the soaring heights of the exotic Cygnus Lounge? Will a plastic surgery-addicted fox survive to swim with seahorse servants in a dome beneath the sea? Will scarab-bearing terrorists sink the Colonel’s steam ship?

Specific Male Needs
Male 18 – 25 Fresh-faced, earnest romantic up and comer-type.
Male 45 – 60 Aged wit, charming, slight, compelling, Quentin Cripsy
Male 35 – 50 Wealthy, war profiteer-type, used to having his way when awake.
General Male Needs
Various males 18 – 40 seeking all types for various dignified comedic roles
Specific Female Needs
Female 18 – 25 Desperate romantic lead, honest, endearing, stylish but with rough edges
Female 45 – 60 A fairy godmother of science Machinery-loving inventor-type, comfortable in a dress or lab coat
Female 21 – 35 Adventuring pilot, Amelia Earharty
General Female Needs
Various Females 18 -40 of all types for various dignified comedic roles

Auditions will be October 15th & 16th, from 1PM-4PM at AFTRA Seattle, 123 Boylston Ave East Suite A.

Auditioners will be called in for an hour, and should be prepared with a (one minute or less) section from their favorite science-fiction or adventure novel to be read aloud and expect a cold reading from sides to be provided at the audition. Some roles, but not all, require singing ability. If you would like to be considered for a singing role, please be prepared to sing a short (under a minute) selection a cappella.

To set up an audition time, you may contact the production manager at grant.knutson (at) annextheatre.org

Now at 11th & E Pike St. in Capitol Hill, Annex Theatreʼs 25th season is no different, featuring four Mainstage productions, two Late Night productions, and two Off Night productions.

JANUARY

Mainstage:
Cocktails at the Centre of the Earth**
Written & directed by Simon Astor
Music direction by Meg van Huygen

Late Night:
The Thrilling Adventures of the Famous Lewis & Clark
Written by Nick Poling & Alex DeRoest
Directed by Collin Schreiber

APRIL

Mainstage:
Team of Heroes: Behind Closed Doors*
Written by Alex Harris
Directed by Jaime Roberts

Off Night:
Sideshow*
Created & choreographed by Jenna Bean Veatch

JULY

Mainstage:
Kittens In A Cage*
Written by Kelleen Conway Blanchard
Directed by Bret Fetzer

Off Night:
El Ultimo Coconut
Written & performed by Gerald Alejandro Ford

OCTOBER

Mainstage:
A Mouse Who Knows Me*
Book & lyrics by Scotto Moore
Music by Robertson Witmer
Directed by Kristina Sutherland

Late Night:
Audrey & Nelson*
Written & directed by Bret Fetzer
Music by Bob Koerner

*world premiere
**NW premiere

That is 25 years of art, 25 years of madness, 25 years of passion. We have seen so many amazing talents pass across our stage, some of whom have gone on to national and international fame, some local, and some simply gone on with their lives, spreading their talent and goodness among friends and colleagues. Fortunately, among those talented people, there have been some talented photographers, so our long history of strictly ephemeral art receives some documentation and becomes, in a way, a bit less ephemeral.

I am proud to count myself among those with photographic talents who have helped document Annex through the years. I consider myself very lucky indeed to have access to high quality digital cameras, so that I can take hundreds of photos per night (I typically shoot 600-1200 photos in one evening of Spin the Bottle, our monthly cabaret) without spending the commensurate hundreds of dollars on film and processing. Fortunately, our historical photos more than make up in quality what they may lack in quantity.

Through the efforts of our board member and long-time Annex contributor Laurie Utterback, and Meaghan Darling, our amazing Production Director (who has also been the Production Manager on every show in the last year, as well as raising a family, holding down a job, and contributing her fabric-crafting genius when needed), we have a selection of Annex’s photographic history prepared for you. They collected, they scanned, they organized, and the result is this amazing collection of historical Annex photos.

First seen as a slideshow at our Silver Anniversary Gala on September 17th, we have also placed all the images into a gallery for your perusal. With so many pictures, the slideshow was necessarily somewhat quick — even at only 7 seconds per picture, the entire show clocks in at almost half an hour long. We wanted to give you the opportunity to relive Annex’s past at a more leisurely pace. Thus, we are proud to present:

Annex Theatre’s 25th Anniversary Slideshow